Greenville Liberty Head Coach Julie Carlson hopes to inspire young girls to play soccer

The Greenville Liberty Soccer Club just completed its first season in the new USL W women’s league, advancing to the playoffs as division champions.

Head Coach Julie Carlson was named to lead the team in Dec. 2021 and assembled a roster of former and current college and elite youth players.

“There has been a surge in interest for women’s soccer, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to lead these players,” Carlson said. “My hope is to teach them skills they need to be effective both on and off the field, and to inspire young girls to play soccer.”

The Liberty is the sister team to the Greenville Triumph. The 44-team USL W is the women’s pre-professional league affiliated with USL League One. The Triumph is a founding member of League One and has advanced to the league championship match in each of its three seasons.

Carlson’s club ran off 10 games without a loss to start the season, including a perfect 6-0 record at their home field at Legacy Early College near Downtown Greenville. It’s been an exciting time, she says.

“The energy, the atmosphere that the fans generate lifts the team,” Carlson said of the crowds that have come out to cheer. It’s a great motivator for her and the players. “‘Hey, these people are here to watch you succeed. They’re here to watch you perform.”

Carlson came to the Liberty from Clemson University, where she was director of Women’s Soccer Operations for the Tigers. She was previously head coach at Anderson University and at Jacksonville State in Alabama.

She is no stranger to starting soccer programs – she was an assistant at Miami University in Ohio when the school started its program in 1997 and she faced the daunting challenge of being the first women’s soccer coach at VMI in 2002, just a few years after the school was ordered by the Supreme Court to admit women as cadets. Her first team had just 14 players, but still won four games against much more established college competition.

Carlson is a native of Illinois and grew up in Texas. She earned a degree in Psychology from Wright State University in Ohio in 1995 and played goalkeeper during her four years as a Raider. She earned a master’s degree at Virginia Commonwealth in 2008.

More: Video: Greenville Liberty USLW soccer coach praises team after home opener_win

More: Photos from USLW match with Greenville Liberty and North Carolina Courage at Legacy Field

TALK GREENVILLE: So, it seems like you’ve had a pretty successful first season! How has it compared to your expectations?

JULIE CARLSON:The only expectation I had was to bring the best players to the Liberty in hope that we could launch our first season with success. This group has definitely exceeded my expectations and done more for women’s soccer in the Upstate than I ever imagined. They have raised the bar for what the Upstate can offer for a potential women’s pro team.

TG: You’ve been involved with starting several programs, what’s harder, building a team from scratch, or maintaining and building on success?

JC: Maintaining and building on success is much more difficult than building from scratch. There is always a lot of hype with something new – like a new restaurant or new pair of shoes. But what’s important is to make sure that the program has a way to invest in a vision that keeps it fresh and new and takes care of the initial foundation so there is always a ‘taste for it’ and that it ‘never goes out of style.’

TG: There are a lot of talented players in the area. What were you looking for when you were building the roster?

JC: We needed a strong starting 11, and strong depth. It was imperative that the team had talent beyond the starting 11 and that we didn’t skip a beat when we made a substitution. We knew that things like injuries and players not being available when returning to college would become part of the process, and we needed to be sure we could maintain a competitive edge. But also, I was looking for a group of women who wanted to see women’s soccer on a bigger stage in the Upstate.

TG: What’s the most surprising thing that has happened, so far?

JC: Just how well they have clicked as a group. They are a lot of fun. They embrace challenges, support one another, have a strong desire to compete, and believe in themselves and their ability to score goals.

TG: Talk a little about the fan support and the atmosphere at the games. How does it compare with a major college, like Clemson?

JC: Our fan base has been very passionate about the sport. I see more young girls out at our games wearing Liberty apparel and holding signs like you see at the United States women’s national soccer team or National Women’s Soccer League events. These young girls can see up close the talent in the Upstate and engage with them in an environment that engages the community soccer youth fan base. The Reedy River Riot (the very vocal Triumph supporters group) have shown an unbelievable amount of support and are always decked out in Liberty gear leading chants.

TG: How does being in a pre-professional league limit what you can provide players (other than a salary, obviously) compared to college programs?

JC: While they cannot be paid for their talent, we can provide basic housing, meals, and transportation costs for team travel per NCAA rules. We also can provide training equipment, gear, and resources to allow them to manage their development throughout the summer. Despite the variety of college programs the players are a part of, we have resources available to each player to help them succeed.

TG: What’s the impact of having a women’s team here in Greenville.

JC: The impact of building the closest thing to a women’s professional team in Greenville is significant because there are no professional women’s teams in any sport in Greenville or the Upstate. We have the Drive, Swamp Rabbits, and the Triumph, but they are all male professional sport teams. This is just the tipping point of what’s to come – what can happen for a women’s professional sport team when a community comes together to make that investment.

TG: Are you and your players starting to get recognized around town?

JC: Yes. I’ve been walking downtown and been at a few events where people will shout out “Go Liberty!” My understanding from the players is that they are being identified with the Liberty team in their work environments. Many players also have developed their own personal fan base from younger athletes, especially girls, who look up to and are inspired by Greenville Liberty players.

TG: Furman has supplied a big chunk of your roster. They’re a major partner for the team, right?

JC: Clemson University represents the largest number of players (current and past) on the roster, followed by Furman University, which has played a critical role in our success this season by providing a place to train throughout the week. Our players represent a variety of schools and have unique backgrounds. We have players from Auburn University, Wake Forest University, Appalachian State University, UNC Charlotte, Wofford College, Anderson University, College of Charleston, and more. We have a player studying to be a nurse, players from Colorado, a player who has competed internationally, and players who are still in high school. I’ve been amazed at how the team has developed a close bond that has in turn contributed greatly to their success despite these varying backgrounds, ages, and short time together.

TG: The USL has announced a professional women’s league that will start next year. Would you like to see the Liberty go up a division?

JC: I would like to see the Liberty move into a professional league, though it is still too early. We need to see investment in a stadium where our men and women can perform, which sets the stage to build a home for the Liberty. This will help entice the best female players possible to want to play and train in that venue and live in Greenville while they pursue their professional careers.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville Liberty Head Coach Julie Carlson hopes to inspire girls